Apple stock rallied more than 3 percent by mid-afternoon trading, boosted by positive news in both the Wall Street Journal and the ISI Group.

The Wall Street Journal reported that budget negotiations between the White House and House Speaker John Boehner have steadily progressed in the past few days. In an address to the House earlier today, Boehner said he is now “hopeful” an agreement can be reached.

Optimism that lawmakers will agree to a deal that will allow the US to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” has lifted stocks across the board today.

“The markets are holding out hope this is all a big bluff,” Ethan Harris, co-head of global economics research at Bank of America, told MarketWatch of the back-and-forth on Capitol Hill that has not yet resulted in an agreement.

Apple shares also increased after ISI Group shared China Unicom’s announcement of more than 300,000 preorders for the iPhone 5, which is scheduled to go on sale in China Dec. 14. China Unicom is China’s second-largest wireless service provider.

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